'Phailin destroyed 210,000 houses'

Tropical storm Phailin and subsequent floods damaged 2.1 lakh homes completely in 18 districts, said parliamentary affairs minister Kalpataru Das in the state assembly today.

Preliminary estimates done immediately after the twin calamities had put the figure at around 2.4 lakh houses only in Ganjam district where the storm had made its landfall.

To provide immediate relief to the homeless families, the state government has sent a request to the Centre for construction of 1.16 lakh houses in the cyclone and flood-affected areas under its Indira Awas Yojna scheme.

"The collectors of 30 districts would be informed through circulars regarding the state government's decision on allotment of houses for the cyclone and flood-affected families," Das added.

At present, the affected persons are staying in makeshift houses made by plastic sheets provided by the state government. They are entitled a compensation of Rs 400 and food grains upto 50 kg a month per affected family, as per the relief package announced by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.

Odisha is currently staring at expensive rehabilitation as the storm and floods swept several houses and smashed power network, causing a loss of more than Rs 4,200 crore, out of which losses in the power system alone is estimated at Rs 1000 crore. Responding to the demand of Odisha, the Central government agreed to provide Rs 1000 crore for restoration and rehabilitation programme. Out of the said amount, about Rs 250 crore has been released so far. The state government has not announced any house building package after the twin calamities.

According to official figures, a total of 13.3 million people were affected by the cyclone and floods in 15,578 villages under 1,924 gram panchayats comprising 128 blocks in 18 districts. The damage was maximum in coastal districts of Ganjam, Puri, Jagatsinghpur, Bhadrak, Mayurbhanj and Balasore.